VATICAN CITY, 28 APR 2008 (VIS) - A press conference held this morning in the Holy See Press Office presented the results of a survey into "the reading of the Scriptures in a number of countries (U.S.A., UK, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Russia". The research was promoted by the Catholic Biblical Federation and by GFK-Eurisko.
Participating in the press conference were Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, Italy, who is also president of the Catholic Biblical Federation; and Luca Diotallevi, co-ordintaor of the research group and professor of sociology at the University of "Roma Tre".
Presenting the results of the survey, Archbishop Ravasi dwelt on the need to underline the importance of the Bible, commenting that the philosopher Blaise Pascal was right to affirm that Scripture contains passages that console people of all conditions and other passages that disquiet them.
Bishop Paglia explained that with a view to the forthcoming Synod on "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church", due to be held in October, the Catholic Biblical Federation "had felt it would be useful to undertake research in a number of countries in the world - while bearing in mind the various Christian traditions - in order to acquire concrete information on Christians' relationship with Scripture".
The survey, he said, "confirmed in full Vatican Council II's pastoral intuition to exhort the faithful to rediscover Scripture as the primary source of spiritual life". It also reaffirmed "the bond that exists between the Bible and the Eucharist", because "the majority of those interviewed indicated the Sunday celebration as the place in which they habitually listen to the Word of God".
In examining "the role of the Bible in ecumenical dialogue", the survey highlighted how "Scripture remains the most effective 'place' Christians have to progress together along the path of unity. ... The answers also showed that there no longer exists that diversity among the various Christian traditions - a diversity evident in the past - concerning their relationship with Scripture".
Another factor to emerge was "the considerable expectations that the men and women of our time have towards Holy Scripture" which "is considered with great respect by everyone". Among Christians "it is widely held that the Bible contains the Word of God, that it is an inspired work capable of giving meaning to life, and that it has far greater authority than other ecclesial manifestations", although the values it contains "are difficult to put into practice".
For this reason, said Bishop Paglia, one of the great challenges is "the responsibility of preaching, which on the basis of the Scripture must constitute an authoritative appeal to believers and to all those who seek".
"Listening to the Scriptures favours the cohesion of listeners", he said. "Indeed, listening to the Word of God truly 'makes' the Church". Hence "reading Scripture in the company of the Church" makes it possible to avoid "the two most dangerous obstacles: a fundamentalist reading, ... and an individualist pseudo-psychological reading which leads readers to reflect themselves in the pages".
The prelate concluded his remarks by highlighting the need "to find space for the 'schools of the word', the 'schools of the Gospel', and the 'schools of reading and listening to the Bible'. ... It is in this perspective", he said, "that we must see 'lectio divina', the oldest and riches method of listening to Scripture" which must be given "new spaces and new forms until it becomes the habitual way of approaching the Word of God in our Christian communities".
For his part Professor Diotallevi explained that some 13,000 interviews had been completed during the course of the survey, which he described as "the most systematic scientific undertaking yet attempted to compare, on an international scale, levels and forms of familiarity with the Scriptures of Christian tradition among the adult population".
"The Bible in the areas we examined", he said, "is not the text of a minority but an important point of reference present - in different degrees and ways - in the life and culture of broad majorities of the population. ... It may be affirmed that between a third and a quarter of adults in the countries examined have read a Bible passage at least once in the last 12 months".
Professor Diotallevi noted the existence of "a gap dividing the Anglo-Saxon world from central and eastern Europe". In the former, "the sensation of the closeness of God is anything but extinct and the practice of prayer is anything but marginal. A very large majority of people look to the Bible as a source of truth, as the source of a message that has to do with life".
It also emerged from the survey that "the practice of reading the Bible depends statistically, more than on shared religious beliefs, on participation in events and groups which already adopt this practice. ... Reading the Bible in no way echoes political polarisation between 'right' and 'left'", said Professor Diotallevi noting in conclusion the prevalence among the populations examined "of a position favourable to studying the Bible in schools. In particular those in favour exceed 50 percent in Russia, Poland, Italy, UK and Germany".
OP/BIBLE SURVEY/RAVASI:PAGLIA VIS 20080428 (890)
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